A wall of rising fire by Edwidge Danticat

Wall Fire

The Irony of Revolution in "A Wall of Rising Fire"

Edwidge Danticat's short story "A Wall of Rising Fire" presents a less-than-optimistic view of life in Haiti during the latter portion of the twentieth century. At times, the story actually appears to be almost hopeful -- the significant role that Little Guy receives in the school play, the success of Guy in his ability to provide his family's basic needs, and even the soaring of the hot air balloon all appear to contain elements of hope. All of these things are actually ironic commentaries on the hopelessness of the situation in Haiti, however, as can be revealed through a close reading. The school play, the means of sustenance for the family, and the trip in the hot air balloon are all used by Danticat to ironically demonstrate the failure of hope and optimism for native Haitians in their own country.

The role that Little Guy receives in the play, that of a revolutionary hero from Haiti's history, seems to symbolize hope and a new revolution on the surface. In reality, however, the revolution that took place in Haiti ultimately resulted in the destitution that Little Guy's family and the rest of Haiti must live in. The revolution might have succeeded in freeing the native population from slavery and colonial rule, but it failed to establish a better life. In this way, the revolution and the hope it brought were ultimately pointless.

Little Guy's father, Guy, feels despondent because he is not able to provide a better life for his family, but Guy's mother reassures him that his child never goes to be hungry, which is a testament of what a good man Guy is. There is definite irony found in the fact that Guy's mother sees this bare level of subsistence as a means to be happy and to praise Guy's efforts at providing for his family. With the amount that Guy works, he should be able to assure a better life for his son, which is his real effort; instead, he is barely able to ensure his son's survival, and the only real purpose for ensuring this survival is so his son can provide the same bleak level of subsistence to his family in the future. This is a losing cycle and not one that actually ought to inspire any hope when fully examined and understood.

The hot air balloon serves as a symbol of freedom and hope throughout the story, and when Guy first takes flight in it is at first appears to indicate that he ahs achieved some sort of escape. His decision to plummet to his death once again turns this symbol on its head, however, showing that there is no real escape and thus no reason to hope -- dreams and symbols are false in the Haiti of Danticat's story, and only lead to greater disappointments. There is nowhere for Guy to fly to in the stolen hot air balloon, and nothing that can be done with the balloon except to look down on all of the people looking back at up at him and dreaming. Rather than continuing to live with and encourage these false dreams, Guy commits suicide and so shows the ultimate hopelessness of life as a Haitian.